Hancock and Moore to be acquired by RHF Investments

[Ci2Eye]

Not sure this is good news. It seldom is. The article indicates RHF Investments is the parent company of Century Furniture. I believe they also own Highland House so this would expand their portfolio.

As part of the deal, Council Furniture's current production facility is slated to close.

I hope Jimmy Moore will continue to do tours. A tour is something I'd still like to do.

http://www.furnituretoday.com/articl...-hancock-moore

[wisejd]

This certainly is not good news for those of us who have such admiration for the Hancock and Moore management team and the kind of offerings and customer service they have exhibited over many years. Hopefully it is what Jimmy Moore wants for his future and it has to be great news for RHF Investments. Hope they can keep things good for the employees of H&M and for the Dealers and Customers.

[Ci2Eye]

Usually the way these things work, there are few changes initially and the new parent company pledges to keep things the same but eventually someone decides it would be more economical and "synergies" could be achieved by combining the manufactuering operations at which point the Hancock and Moore name quietly begins being affixed to furniture made in a Century plant.

Maybe that won't happen though. I think Hooker has allowed Bradington-Young to remain autonomous so hopefully Hancock and Moore can retain similar independence.

[drcollie]

First I've heard of it. Not an inkling prior to this, and my Councill Rep (also a Jessica Charles and H&M Rep) was in the store on Thursday last week and made no mention of it. Nor did any of the Customer Service team at H&M today - I spoke with them several times on the phone. So I'm as surprised as anyone else here at this news and Furniture Today is spot-on accurate most times, so I don't doubt its true. Jimmy Moore is in his late 70's, and Jack Glasheen in his late 60's so I can see why they are making this move. It's such a fine operation as it is now I'm sure the new owners will want to protect their investment and not make any changes any time soon, though we all know change is always inevitable in some form.

Now if anyone wants to buy my business (The Keeping Room) and have me keep running it - I'm all ears. Bring offers!

[scone]

First I've heard of it. Not an inkling prior to this, and my Councill Rep (also a Jessica Charles and H&M Rep) was in the store on Thursday last week and made no mention of it. Nor did any of the Customer Service team at H&M today - I spoke with them several times on the phone. So I'm as surprised as anyone else here at this news and Furniture Today is spot-on accurate most times, so I don't doubt its true. Jimmy Moore is in his late 70's, and Jack Glasheen in his late 60's so I can see why they are making this move. It's such a fine operation as it is now I'm sure the new owners will want to protect their investment and not make any changes any time soon, though we all know change is always inevitable in some form.

Now if anyone wants to buy my business (The Keeping Room) and have me keep running it - I'm all ears. Bring offers!

Oh dear, oh dear. My first thoughts were, "there goes more family wage jobs," and "time to place some orders before the quality is destroyed in the name of shareholder value."

[drcollie]

I have confirmed that the story is accurate, its a good opportunity for the owners of the H&M companies to gently ease in retirement when the time is right for them (which is not now, I might add). It makes a lot of sense for them to do this as they don't have to rush to sell it should they happen to get ill or want to retire, its a smart move. H&M is a very efficient, very lean operation - there are few middle managers. Mostly the owners of the company run it day to day. hands-on. Anyone who has been to the factory and taken a tour knows there are no ivory towers there - its kept lean for a reason and has a super strong, extremely loyal and motivated employee base that doesn't require a lot of supervision.

The new owners, RDL Holding Group (which is essentially Century Furniture) are not publicly traded so no need to worry about maximizing shareholder value. While I don't know the price paid for H&M and its companies, I am sure it didn't come cheap - and anyone smart enough to buy it sure as heck isn't going to go in there and change the way business is being done. Any changes will come gradual over a period of time, and from what I know of the furniture industry will not affect the consumer product you buy. What we will likely see in years to come is the Principals eventually retiring, a consolidation of the Century Brand / Hancock & Moore trade showrooms in High Point at Market into the Steele Street Building, and possibly the sales reps to the dealers merging. Production facilities may be consolidated as well. Time will tell and I have no inside information, its just speculation on my part.

From the consumer side of it, what you will see is the closing and ceasing of Councill furniture as we now know it, and since Taylor King was not included in the sale of the H&M companies, it will be stand alone and still be owned by the current H&M principles. That likely will mean in the near future you won't be able to swap fabrics and leathers from TK to H&M/Jessica Charles, but few folks took advantage of that anyways.

I'd not be worried or concerned as a consumer in the least. Jack, Jimmy and Tim, along with the H&M staff built that company to be the finest maker of leather upholstery in the world, and it will continue down that path, I'm sure. Long term forum members know I call 'em as I see 'em, Honesty and transparency has always been my stock in trade so if I see anything come down the pike indicative of negatives in the brand or the way its made, I'll share it.

[pucks104]

Last week when we toured the H&M factory with Jimmy Moore, I asked him if his family was involved in the business. He said no they all had other interests. DH and I wondered what would happen with the Hancock and Moore factory and brand when the current owners decided to retire. Mr. Moore commented that if he were to die today the factory would continue and the furniture would be produced in the same way. He took great pride in the skill and dedication to quality of the Hancock and Moore employees. Many of the employees in the factory had worked at H&M for their whole adult lives beginning just after high school graduation. Many said Jimmy Moore had been the one to teach them how to make the furniture. I truly hope that the level of quality continues beyond the lives of the individuals who created this brand and that the factory continues to provide good jobs for people in that community.

[drcollie]

Jimmy Moore turns 80 this year (he's pretty spry for his age!) and Jack Glasheen will be 70. I think its a good move on their part to do this - and I say this as a friend of theirs, not as a businessman. It gives them the flexibility to simply go and enjoy life when they want to without having to sell off or divide up a business at a later date when they could be having health issues as happens to us all, or simply get too weary to work any more. They work HARD, too....they are not in their offices relaxing and checking their stock portfolios. With new ownership, they can retire much more easily when the time comes - for now they are staying on and continuing to do what they do. They also still own Taylor King, which is not included as part of this sale.

There has been another major existing furniture company that has wanted to buy the H&M companies for some time now, and I'm not naming names but they would not sell to them because they didn't treat their employees very well, and that is paramount at H&M. Century has an extremely good reputation for running very similar to H&M, and there is no way that Jack and Jimmy would sell their business to anyone who would not take care of their staff and workers as they are their extended families. The one thing I have always heard them say repeatedly over the years in our conversations is "We have to take care of our people"...and they do.

The April Market is a month away. I'm sure I can find out more on future plans and meet the new owners then.

[strofferazo]

Well, shoot. Now I kind of wish I didn't have an HM sofa on order. I'm betting the odds of getting replacement cushion inserts for free when I need them eventually just went from 100% to 0%, and the customer service everyone was raving about will probably go downhill as well. This is not good news for the consumers even though it is probably good news for the owners of H&M. Darn.

[wisejd]

While you raise an unavoidable concern, I can guarantee you will not remain wishing you didn't have an H&M Sofa on order ...You will absolutely love it! And the even better news is that you are unlikely to need to experience their great customer service, and we should all be so fortunate as to outlive our cushions.